In
a career spanning almost 30 years Toyah Willcox
has been a successful recording artist, film and
stage actor, writer and businesswoman. She talks
to Fitness First about beauty, image and writing
her compellingly open and honest account of her
recent facelift.

Q.
We live in a very image-obsessed age and on one
hand, some might see this as evidence of our
shallowness, others might argue that failing to
make the effort to look one's best indicates
somehow a lack of self-respect or ambition. Do
you feel that society should place so much
importance on image and do you think this puts
too much pressure on people - particularly the
young?

A.
Society has placed importance on image from as
far back as the Pharaohs. Image has set Kings and
Queens apart from the common hordes throughout
the centuries therefor it is only natural in all
cultures for people to question if their image
reflects their successes in life, whether it be
in finding a mate, or getting a job or in getting
a role in a movie. There is nothing shallow about
self-appearance because I believe it is natural
to care about one's looks.

Do
we put too much importance on image? Only when
obsessed with an unnatural level of perfection. I
do get despondent with the media for selling us
what is beautiful and what is not, because surely
beauty should be about celebrating diversity, but
it seems we only get the 'Barbie doll' images
shining happily from our magazine pages.

I
have always said that if we can teach our sons to
believe they are leaders from an early age then
we can teach our daughters the same and that goes
for enforcing self-worth. It is a crime to give
the young the impression that ageing is something
to fear or to be ashamed of. That said I neither
fear nor feel shame in the ageing process I
simply want to prolong a quality of life in an
industry that will always be image conscious. I
love my work and I love the entertainment
industry, telling me to go away and have therapy
so I can learn to age gracefully would be like
telling a porn star to have therapy to remain a
virgin. I fully accept the values of my
workplace.

Q.
In Diary Of A Facelift you recount a story about
how, despite Katharine Hepburn's incredible
talent her earliest reviews were all (negatively)
about her appearance. Did you feel that your own
achievements over the years were being sidelined
by the public's preoccupation with looks?

A.
It is true that in recent years my looks
dominated my achievements when it came to
critical comment. You say in your question 'the
public's comments' - the public have nothing to
do with this, they are passive readers. The
comments I received were media reaction, people
who decided it was more worthwhile to say I
looked 'haggard' than to say 'wow what a great
performance', that's life, it doesn't alter my
talent, I am still talented, it doesn't alter my
ambition, I am still ambitious, and all it does
is stop me buying the newspapers and buy their
rivals instead.
Punk star Toyah wows crowd

Q. Fitness First recently
commissioned a survey that revealed that 15 per
cent of British people would be prepared to pay
over £10,000 to wake up tomorrow and find their
body in the best shape it could possibly be. Do
you feel that beauty will become more viewed as a
commodity?

A.
I find it surprising that only 15 per cent said
this, I thought it would be more like 60 per
cent. undoubtedly to some, beauty is a commodity,
I can think of a hundred examples and not all of
them are flattering. But what I have undergone is
not about beauty it is about 'freshening up' and
liberating myself from a potential 40 years of
ageist reviews and comments such as 'are you
angry?', 'have you been crying?', and 'are you
not well?'. I'm 46 I have at least another 40
years in me and I want those years to be happy,
after all I have worked for it and have saved for
it, so is beauty increasingly going to be seen as
a commodity, yes - but I have news for you - it
has been since printing was invented.

Q.
You refer to Sharon Osbourne and Debbie Harry as
being the only people prepared to admit their
cosmetic surgery. Why do you think there is so
much more stigma attached to facial surgery as
opposed to say, breast enhancement?

A.
I admire them for being honest and admitting to
surgery in a hostile environment. Breast implants
are associated with young women and latest
fashion and face lifts are associated with sad,
ageing women, now that is what I call shallow.
Face lifts have been around for over a century
and have almost exclusively been the practice of
the super-rich.

In
recent years surgery has improved to the point
that one need never have to admit to having had
it because it's all starting to look natural (in
the good cases). The danger here is that if we
don't talk about it, misinformed women could go
to 'cowboys' for surgery and we need to regulate
this industry. Also we need to eradicate from our
minds that ageing means we step outside of
society. Personally I have never been more
qualified in life to work and advise and I am
showing no signs of slowing down. We have all
seen in the space of a few years that the 30's
are becoming the new 20's and 40's becoming the
new 30's, we are all remaining healthier longer,
this will mean we will remain sexually active
longer and I don't know anyone who has sex and
doesn't care about their image.

Q. Having
your Diary published was an extremely brave and
possibly risky step - was your motivation to
achieve some sort of catharsis or a genuine
desire to help others by recounting your
experiences and your delight with the obvious
positive result?

A.
I wrote the book because if I see another advert
for a beauty product with a surgically-enhanced
model promoting it, I will scream and if I meet
another woman who tells me she looks 10 years
younger than she is, because she drinks water, I
will scream again. Surgery is very, very common.
It needs to enter our every day vocabulary in
order to protect those who are considering
it.

Q.
During your career you have successfully
reinvented yourself on numerous occasions and it
is quite evident that you are thrilled with both
your appearance and your self image at the moment
- do you have any more surprises left for
us?

A.
Do I have any other surprises left? Well of
course. Where there is secrecy there is the
element of surprise, just watch this space.

Diary
Of A Facelift by Toyah Willcox is available at
all good bookshops priced £14.99 in illustrated
hardback.

It
includes a detailed appendix of practical advice
aimed at anyone considering or about to undergo
facial surgery.